There are so many different
3-3/4" military product lines out there these
days that it's impossible to keep track of them all, really. You've
got
G.I.JOE,
of course, but also THE CORPS, ELITE FORCE, and a number of others.
Given
that
I barely collect even G.I.Joe anymore, I haven't paid a lot of attention
to
the others.

On the other hand, I'm not
one for refusing free toys, either. So when a
fellow reviewer for the Web Site MasterCollector.Com, who mostly reviews
dolls,
offered me a 3-3/4" scale military toy that one of the companies
he often
receives doll samples from sent him, I readily accepted, figuring it
would be good
for a review.

I honestly didn't expect
to be impressed. In my estimation, most of these
non-Joe military toy lines fall into two categories -- incredibly precise
but
also incredibly expensive, or cheap junk. The only line I've ever found
that was
decently compatible with G.I.Joe has been Lanard's CORPS toys.

There's also finances to
be concerned. I have to watch my toy dollars. I
have
to watch all my dollars, because I don't have very many of them. So
branching
out beyond what few current G.I.Joe items I was picking up just was
not
something I was inclined to do. But, as I said, I got this one for free.

I'd heard of the POWER TEAM
ELITE toys. They weren't one of the major
brands,
but they seemed to have garnered a fair amount of respect in the G.I.Joe
community. Produced by a company called "M&C Toy Centre Ltd",
based in
Hong Kong,
we're not exactly talking Hasbro or Bandai here, and yet the line has
been
successful enough to warrant not only a company Web Site, but a toy
line
Web Site
as well, which can be accessed at www.mctoy.com.hk and
www.powerteamfigures.com.

The package the vehicle I
received came in showcases quite a few of their
other products, which I have tended to hear good things about, such
as
the F-18
Fighter Plane, and the Combat Tank. Other items shown on the back include
a
Helicopter, Dune Buggy, Patrol Boat, Landing Raft, and hysterically,
but
appropriately, a Desert Camel, complete with saddle and soldier.

The item I received is a
HUMVEE, decked out in the back with a huge
canopy,
making it look more like a transport truck than anything. I honestly
didn't
know that Humvees came in this form. But I saw one just like it on a
History
Channel program recently, so I guess they do.

Now, there's something to
be said about that phrase, "just like it". And
here
is the strength of the Power Team Elite line -- more specifically
referred to
on the box as WORLD PEACEKEEPERS. This is not G.I.Joe. You're not looking
at
VAMPs and MOBATs here. There are no Cobras to be found. No bright red
missiles
or team logos on the vehicle. The name of the game, clearly, is
"precision".

The HUMVEE is molded from
a very rigid type of plastic, and I worry that
if
it were put through a lot of rough play, it might prove to be a little
fragile.
However, there's certainly no denying the authentic look of the item.
When I
saw these Humvee trucks rolling across the screen on that History Channel
program, I knew that the smaller one I had sitting in my living room
was
a dead-on
match for them.

The detailing is superb.
The headlights are clear plastic, the side and
tail
lights are carefully painted, every rivet is molded in place, the doors
both
open, and there are benches inside the rear of the vehicle for soldiers
to sit
on. The rear canopy can be removed.

Speaking of the soldiers,
this vehicle came with two of them. And yes,
they're 3-3/4" in height. But that's pretty much where the similarity
with G.I.Joes
ends. They don't even stand alongside G.I.Joes very well. One is clearly
looking at two disparate toy lines that weren't even designed to work
together, so
I'm not even going to make a comparison between the two, except to say
that
their construction is quite different. I wouldn't want to see G.I.Joes
done like
this. I want to see G.I.Joes done like they were in the 80's and 90's.
But
that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with these two figures.

About their only fault is
they're a little too wide-chested. In this,
they
are like many of Lanard's CORPS figures. But again, the similarity ends
there,
and as with the vehicle, the name of the game with these two soldiers
is
clearly "authenticity". The two soldiers have different heads,
both very
well
detailed. The bodies are identical, even down to the camouflage markings
on the
uniforms, but are very well made. Frankly they feel a little more solid
than the
vehicle.

Then there are the figures'
accessories. As with all other aspects of
this
toy set, the general rule is "authenticity". The figures come
with two
highly
detailed rifles, two nice backpacks with elastic straps, a mortar
launcher, and
three shells in a small box. About the only negative point here is
there's no
way to load the shells into the launcher.

Overall? I'm impressed. This
isn't a G.I.Joe toy. However, it is a very
cool
toy. If someone were constructing a 3-3/4" scale military diorama,
I
would
definitely recommend these toys. I'm not sure they'd make effective
play-toys for
a small child, but if what you want is as much military authenticity
as
possible wrapped up in a plastic toy product, and I know that a lot
of
military toy
collectors want precisely that, then I would certainly recommend the
Power
Team Elite World Peacekeepers HUMVEE Truck, and, I am sure, many other
products
from the same line!